


Ellipses: Rum and Oranges

by kayliemalinza



Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Genre: Drabble Sequence, Fruit, Gen, Poetic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-11-30
Updated: 2006-11-30
Packaged: 2017-10-27 08:26:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/293729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayliemalinza/pseuds/kayliemalinza
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They are the connecting points in his parallel ellipses.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ellipses: Rum and Oranges

**Author's Note:**

> 8 sections of exactly 50 words each. 8 x 50 = 400. :)  
> Set after CotBP, spanning from before the hurricane to the DMC dock scene.

The day is overly warm. His brocaded collar scratches the back of his neck and his frilly cuffs are plastered to his wrists. James smiles: the wind unfurls a citrus tendril through his office window. He plucks an orange to eat while walking home, and it is sticky and delicious.

  
The forge stifles. Will retreats outside to air the ruptured burn on his palm. Norrington strides by and his uniform bedazzles: gold brocade and blinding white; his dark blue coat. He nods and offers Will an orange slice. Will accepts; the citrus stings his wound, but the pulp is sweet.

  
Her corset is too hot for a promenade, but not too tight. James seems strangely refreshed. Elizabeth extends her hand for a kiss but he demurs.  
"My hands are intolerably sticky. I have just eaten an orange."  
She laughs and twirls the parasol, spinning shards of light across her face.

  
His fingers still smell of oranges during his morning shave. He eats another on his way to the docks, where the Dauntless shines white and blonde. Her hull is swarming with reflected eels of light. Her cargo holds no oranges, but she will weather any storm to catch Jack Sparrow.

  


~O~

  
Tortuga is rank and dark. His captain's coat is a soft familiar; the fabric keeps the shape of his elbows. James smiles: the stench of blood and filth is strong, but the smell of rum is stronger. He swigs directly from the bottle, and the burn is swift and sickly.

  
Whorehouses are hellholes. Will escapes at last with both cheeks throbbing and stumbles past a man in a blue coat smudged brown by dirt and lamplight. The man laughs and offers him a bottle. Will, naïve or desperate, accepts it. The fumes are strong, but the resultant haze is comforting.

  
Elizabeth can crouch while wearing a shirt and breeches. James looks like nothing but a crumpled coat and wig. She grabs his muddy arms to help him up.  
"What has the world done to you?"  
He wavers in her pity, collecting streaks of light in his eye and lower lip.

  
His clothes and breath still reek of rum. He wants another numbing bottle, but his belly roils as he nears the docks. The Black Pearl glowers darkly, mixing mirrored torch and moonlight on her ruddy hull. Her hold is surely filled with rum, but more importantly: she carries Jack Sparrow.


End file.
